I shall scream if the BBC don't stop referring to "Nigel Farrage's Brexit party" At least they didn't win a seat though!

We are staying right away from town until next week when all the excitement has gone and only the Roman remains and the tourists are left.

I had to smile at the reported research from Sweden where the stress levels in dogs and their human owners have been tested and, guess what? Stressed owners have sressed dogs. They didn't test cats and their owners - possibly because cats are the owners

Cooking for those you care about is the most profound expression of love - Anne-Sophie Pic

Good morning all Sunshine here so far ... today I must plant up a container with morning glories, dash to Wrose and get some mild (seriously thinking about getting it delivered ... since OH has no longer been at the farm shop, picking up milk has caused more trips to the supermarket than I would like) and the other job is to make OHs favourite supper ... lasagne ... I made the ragu yesterday so it won’t take too long.

“I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” —Winnie-the-Pooh

hmm, haven't had lasagne for a loooong time and i fancy it now, but as we have no lasagne sheets we won't be having it today, either.have a good trip to waitrose - i prefer bitter, myself, didn't know you could get it delivered - is that like an alcoholic version of the 'corona' lorry‽‽

A quick . Last night shift done and have woken up to a day which would look and feel more fitting in November. I am going to be a complete slob and catch up on lots of TV for a while. Some happy news though, a text to say that my best friend has become granny to twins, one boy and one girl and all went well. They already have an older brother and sister.

Good afternoon everyone, That's great news BB I spent most of yesterday at my Dad's flat, we are in the final push of getting it cleared ready to sell. The sun was shining when I got back and I sat outside for a bit with my book just enjoying it. Rain is due in later and certainly the clouds are gathering. I had errands to run in town and it was quite warm & muggy out.If it stays dry I must clean my storm door and front porch, they are covered in sand which must have been blown in during the recent storm. The front garden is needing some attention but I don't think I'll get it done today.

Morning all. I had a doctors app. about my knee yesterday it has been hurting for about a month. I now have a referral to the orthopedic doctor She thinks I have a torn meniscusthat might require surgery . Luckily this is where I work at the hospital so I know most of them and was able to chose who I think does the best work.BB glad you are out of the boot but take it easy.EM great news.No rain in the forecast for today It is bright and sunny.

We have been over to Pissouri, tomorrow the village centre will be closed for a major wedding, the road from the church will be closed to allow the bride and groom to walk down from the church followed by the entire congregation, you cannot call it a procession as that implies a degree of organisation The bride is a member of the family who own among other businesses several of the beach concessions, the grooms family own the Melanda Beach taverna. When we passed the track to Melanda Beach there was a large sign in English. Closed 7/8/9 th June, Family Wedding. Nothing in Greek, I suspect that any local Cypriot knows about and will be attending the wedding.

We called into the fruit farm for apricots, bought small fruit for chutney, ripe fruit to eat tonight. Svetlana tells that they are having problems this year. The crop was two weeks late because of cold weather now fruit is rotting on the trees because of the heat. If the strawberry farm has trays of small or misshaped fruit tomorrow , Deb will make Strawberry and Basil Jelly.

Late again.... BB Nurse fingers crossed ! Mr. Z was 'spare' today - went in for 7am but came home @ 9am as was not reqd. Thankfully gets paid for 8 hours min. I managed to find many tasks..... Putting up a curtain pole so that visitors next month have some privacy ! Dinky towel hook in Ute. General clearing up that almost needs to be done daily. Kev finished my larder cupboard and put in the external cat flap (through the house wall) in the store area. Sadly the office furniture (which has been in my bedroom for a year!!!!!) was not put in situ but a promise has been made as he left early 2 days running

I have cleaned the kitchen floor where the old units came to - needed doing !!!!!

Looking forward to some leisure time tomorrow, we are off to Oxford to see a production (by students) of a Greek tragedy - Agamemnon at one of the colleges.

Out to lunch at fiends on Sunday lunchtime then Monday the real kitchen fitters arrive to start proceedings for the arrival of new kitchen on Thursday. Nuther busy week ahead....

Sally Anne can now jump through the hatch from the dining area to the kitchen...... the doors will have to be shut to keep her captive. My God - she is growing at a rate....!

Weather has been rubbish today but the butts are now full and the garden watered... it did need it.

Good Morning Wild Ones, the temperature has reverted to normal (hurrah), the sitting room fan got turned off.Talking to Effie yesterday, the field opposite us belongs to her brother, we thought it belonged to the church. I call it a field, really it is rough land with olives and carob trees, they are harvested for their crops.

There was yet more coverage about supermarkets selling "loose" fruit vegetables yesterday. I suddenly realised that I always buy unpacked fruit and veg here, I do not have any choice. Some imported items such as blueberries are prepacked, not that I buy them, too expensive. Strawberries are boxed but no other fruit, bags of mixed salad leaves appeared a couple of years ago but that it is it. You pick everything else out yourself. I do buy prepacked pulses and beans because I always spill everything if I try to put it in bags. Baked goods are always loose, plenty of paper bags available, the exception is pitta, that is always prepacked.Somehow I think that being old fashioned Cyprus has managed to be to be fashionable. However there are discarded plastic water bottles everywhere

Good morning wild ones. It is hammering down with rain, has been most of the night too the plants are loving it, as are the weeds I always try to buy fruit and veg loose where possible, you can pick the best looking that way. I find if I have to buy a bag of something, two or three are normally bad or on the turn. Dare I say Morrison's are bu##ers for that, even the loose stuff is dodgy sometimes too but at least you can see it. I always put the bad stuff on top of the box for all to see

Morning all! Looks very damp outside. The forecast says the rain's going to stop at 9am. I do hope so as I am off to the Neolithic cookery day I mentioned some months back. I must dig out my waterproof trousers (don't think Neolithic dress is required!).

I hate it when packaged fruit is bad. There seems to be a trend for things like apples or pears to look nice but be bad in the middle which is disappointing and I suppose that even the retailer couldn't know. I might add that I usually only buy pears in season so feel it serves me right if I have them at other times and get caught out but I do tend to eat apples all year round.

Been a busy week of ups and downs. Was very poorly on Wednesday but had an urgent scan booked. Got to the hospital, got into the scanner but had to abort the procedure half way through as I was taken in the scanner and they had to push the emergency button and pull me out quick. It has been rebooked for about ten days time.

Yesterday, I had a long awaited op on my leg. It was meant to be a very minor procedure but became a bit more complex which couldn’t have been foreseen. I was fine last night before the anaesthetic wore off but am feeling a bit sorry for myself this morning.

Stitches come out on Friday but then I need to go straight to physio for my shoulder. :

I am going to let Bob take me out for a light lunch then put my feet up this afternoon.

I have restarted my cross stitch and a friend has introduced me to diamond art. I have bought the kit but haven’t opened it yet. Has anyone else tried it?

Goodness me jrc you are having a time of it hope you're feeling much better very soon. Have a cuppa

Moira, I shall phone OH and tell him ... that'll cheer him up on another 11 hour day at work ... he's a bit fan of Tunnock's Tea Cakes

I always buy loose fruit and veg if I can ... not so easy as the farm shop has closed, but if I'm in the city I always shop at the market, and Wrose does seem to have fewer prepacked veg than than they used to. I just put the veg loose in the trolley and into my bag at checkout ... they're happy for me to do that.

I've had an early start as OH was off to work at 7.40 and not due home until 6.40 ish. Supper is the second half of yesterday's lasagne (OH's special request) ... lots of washing was done during the week and it's damp out there now so now that the house is tidy and the bread dough is proving there's not a lot that must be done ... I added 100gms of walnuts to the last batch of bread dough and it was very successful ... OH has requested more ... however the hitch with that plan is that the remaining 100 gms of walnuts in the pack seem sadly depleted ... I suspect that someone has been adding them to his muesli I've had to use pumpkin seeds as usual ...

I have no plans for the rest of the day, other than that I've just started a new Kate Atkinson novel so I'll probably read some more of that and do some more of the Aran jumper I've nearly finished for SSIL ... I might also watch the Trooping the Colour ... used to watch it with the Aged Ps and haven't seen it for a while ... love the drum horses

“I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” —Winnie-the-Pooh

Sorry to hear you've been under the weather jrc. Hope the lunch out helps,

Lovely again here but rain is promised for Monday which is a bank holiday. It seemed odd, for Mr R not to go to the market. He is having fun wafting his cordless hedge trimmer to tame various creeping and climbing plants which are threatening to take over the garden and balcony.

We are out tonight to a friend's whose birthday is the same day as DD's I am not really looking forward though because she told us after we had accepted that she has invited the expats from hell - the ones who voted leave Also they are always late - have been known by as much as an hour. She never stops talking and forgets to eat so meals take hours dominated by their voices. I know, it sounds very ungreatful but I don't like spending a whole evening having to bite my tongue in case offence is caused.

Tomorrow is the fete des voisins and a Northumbrian leek pastry has been made. We won't get there until mid afternoon because Manu has invited us over to sample his summer menu base.

Cooking for those you care about is the most profound expression of love - Anne-Sophie Pic

Morning everyone Hope you soon feel better jrc. Overcast but humid in Hull this morning, we have been to Aldi it was very busy, then to Dunelm the sale is worth a look we got more towels and bedding. Does anyone else get scratchy towels? I don't have a tumble drier so they are always line dried but they never feel soft and fluffy a friend says I shouldn't use fabric softener on towels as that's what causes it. I personally don't like fluffy towels but the other oat does.

I don’t have a tumble dryer either Oat ... did have in a previous existence but we don’t have a utility room and there’s no spare space in the kitchen ... the previous folk at this house had plans to enlarge the kitchen and create a large ‘family area’ but we’ve used that area to create our painting studio ... other folk put tumble dryers in the garage but ours is full of gardening equipment at one end and stored paintings at the other ... just as well the garden’s big enough for two long retractable clothes lines I never use conditioner on towels and as long as there’s a good breeze they dry fairly fluffy. Mind you my OH Likes a fairly abrasive towel ... he says it’s more invigorating.

“I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” —Winnie-the-Pooh

Good morning everyone, Get well soon jrc I do like a hard towel for after my shower, I think they dry you better Showery here today and some are pretty heavy downpours, nipped out and watered the greenhouse during a dry spell but that will probably all I'll do outdoors today.

We don't have a tumble dryer, no need except for a few weeks in Winter.I made some more Apricot Chutney this morning, Deb is making Strawberry Jelly this afternoon. I have kept back some apricots to make a Clarfouti for supper.

we have no tumble drier either. i also stopped using fabric conditioner a number of years back, too. it seems to have made very little difference to the ordinary washing (other than being without the overpowering scent) and i never used to use it with towels, anyway; they are less absorbent with a coating of wax on the fibres - we do have soft water, though, so that has a 'softer' effect on the towels anyway.

I had a couple of Land’s End travel dresses I really liked. The label said to tumble dry, but of course I never did as I don’t have one

I was a bit disappointed with the dresses, they really needed ironing, whereas my idea of a travel dress is one that can be worn after drip drying in the shower

Anyway, I finally stayed at a US chain hotel and spent a quarter to tumble dry it. It emerged looking box fresh. So obviously you weren’t merely allowed to tumble dry it, you were supposed to. Do Lands End not know that most hotels (not to mention guest houses, camp sites etc) don’t have tumble driers outside of the US?

Nigella was fun. As was Jenny Linford doing an event at the butchers (they have a bbq are, covered seating in the yard), and Olia Hercules and Alissa Timoschenko talking about the food of the former Soviet Union. Out soon to hear Alan Johnson talking to Suzanne Moore. Phew.

I spent time yesterday, decanting boxes and boxes of bottles and jars into my new larder, it don't half hold a lot ! Superb design by me and the chippie. Mr. Z put up another curtain pole, this time from the kitchen into the snug - very happy with the effect. One of my besties gifted me some wonderful curtains that really dress the spot, she will be pleased to see them put to good use. She has been very very generous over the last few years. It's my turn to pay at coffee and cake when I can make it again.....

We left for Oxford at 6pm and managed to find a place to park without getting a ticket!!! A quick (cheap) dwinkie in a student bar before the Greek Tragedy which was OUTSIDE !!!! Set in the most glorious college garden square @ New College, the architecture was stunning and the weather was kind if a little cold. There were about 150 of us, should have worn more layers......By 10.30 we were chilled to the bone but is another off the bucket list...... A strange format with a 'Chorus' (not the singing sort). They were not professional actors but all students, no microphones but we could hear all they said, very well performed. Not a 'like' in evidence.

We sat in the bar beforehand and on the next table were 3 students chatting, almost every other word was 'like', how did this abomination of our language happen ?

Off to fiends for a Mexican lunch (we are all cat lovers) so no doubt there will be questions asked of Sally Anne. I will need an early night as the new kitchen starts tomorrow. Another layer of excitement for me

Good Morning Wild Ones, a bit cloudy here, according to the local weather page there is a thunderstorm over the other end of the island Deb has had a bag of strawberries dripping overnight, to be turned into jelly later this morning.

Edited to say that I have put the Spiced Apricot Chutney recipe in the Larder section.

Good morning wild ones. The Sun has come out It's Sunday, the day of rest not much happening today. I shall be out in the garden and greenhouse catching the weeds as they appear after all the rain we have had. At least the water butts are fully replenished

We have sun too, but cloud rolling in. Not sure what to wear to stay comfortable for a whole day of running between chapels, church halls and assembly rooms. It won’t be very warm, but not much chance of rain.

Only one foodie event, panel discussion of French food with Felicity Cloake, Diana Henry and Alex Jackson of Sardine (newish Provençal restaurant which I must visit)

Good morning all Have put bed linen in the wash so it can go on the line before next week’s forecast of wall to wall rain sets in. We’ve had a wander around the garden ... the Graham Thomas honeysuckle is amazing this year, better than its ever been

We have something strange in the front garden ... a foxglove has a fasciated bloom at the top (several blooms merged into one) ... fasciation is not that uncommon and is usually caused by some damage to the growing tip and is not unusual in foxgloves ... however now all the side shoots are producing the same large fused blooms at the top so it can’t be caused by local damage but must surely be something in the plants DNA? No one on the GW website has ever seen this happening before. The John Innes Institute (plant research) is at Colney just up the road ... I’ll email some photos to them and see what they say.

OH is working until 3 today. I’m catching up on the Archers while prepping supper ... gammon hock in the slow cooker and broad beans from the garden, Charlotte potatoes, carrots and parsley sauce.

Last edited by suffolk on June 9th, 2019, 9:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

“I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” —Winnie-the-Pooh

It's raining!! So what is going to happen to the fete des voisins heaven only knows.

Last night's dinner was, shall we say. interesting? The one good thing was that the host produced a Brexit box and announced that if anyone uttered the dreaded B word they had to put in a € . That shut the 2 leavers up on the subject. I didn't have much to eat I'm afrais. The hostess who is a bit scatty, completely forg howeverot about me and coconuts and the main course was a Thai curry with masses of the stuff. When I got home I had to make myself a sandwich. It was a lovely evening weatherwise though and we ate outseide on their beautiful terrace watching the swallows drinking on the wing from the swimming pool. I did remember to take a wrap.

I'm looking forward to a lovely, coconut-free, lunch.

Cooking for those you care about is the most profound expression of love - Anne-Sophie Pic

Good morning everyone, Dry but breezy here but no sign of rain , my sister is picking me up early afternoon and we are going to get a takeaway coffee and have it by the sea. Today would have been my Mum's 78th birthday so lots of shared and individual memories to reflect on. After coffee we are heading to do some more clearing out at my Dad's.I made a pan of mash yesterday and have a chicken crown defrosting to stuff and roast later for dinner. I've not had a "chicken dinner" for ages and leftovers will come in handy over the next few days as I'm having to be at my Dad's quite a bit next week.

You seem to have been very active Wildies yesterday! I wonder, Zosh, if your play was put on by the same group from which I have been receiving details since doing a module on Greek and Roman history with OU. I was enthralled by the Greek plays and literature and the wit which went with them and had no idea beforehand that I would be. It is worth reading up and understanding how plays were performed (with the chorus etc) to get full enjoyment. Sue, your weekend sounds great!

Yesterday's Iron Age cookery course (I think I said Neolithic yesterday ) was great. You might remember I went to a talk earlier in the year but this was a practical day. H&S decrees we have a safe fire and tables for preparing food but the utensils and ingredients were as authentic as they think, going by findings. Actually, the Iron age isn't that long ago and implements were not too far away from those with which we are familiar, along with cooking methods with clever use of fire still used around the world today. We made a sort of pork stew with veg which might have been available then in June and included grains, pulses and flavourings and some beer as part of the liquid(certain herbs, ramsens, juniper berries etc). We also made flatbread with assorted flours and leavened bread using beer barm as the leavening agent. The latter was cooked as rolls on a griddle over the fire and was a great hit with all . We also made butter from cream using the simplest and most effective method we had ever seen. The cream was poured into a bowl with medium sides and whisked with the (clean!) fingers. It turned thick almost instantly and into butter a short time later, much more effective than whisks, jam jar shaking etc. Lastly, there was a custard made from eggs, honey and milk warmed by the fire. It was all delicious but I was interested in a couple of people, one of whom was the husband of a lady there, who went into such raptures abut the stew and the custard that I did wonder what they ate at home. Came home tired and smelling of bonfire .

There's a local festival here today which I might go and look at. Also have stuff to prep for a meeting tomorrow and need to tidy up a bit and 1001 other things which need doing . The forecast for the next few days looks a bit grim.

Em that sounds fascinating. It is a very good thing that H&S didn't exist in those days isn't it?

We have just got back from a wonderful and very long lunch.Manu outdid himself. First course was crabmayo on top of a fresh spring vegetable macedione surrounded by a tomato and basil consomme.

Mains for me was turbot in a shell fish sauce with new potatoes and baby arichokes, Mr R had a saddle of rabbit stuffed with sweetbreads with stuffed baby vegetables.

My dessert was just to die for. Cherries presented all sorts of ways. Clafoutis of morellos with almonds, a compote of black cherries with dried cherry crumble and topped with pistachio ice cream. Mr R had a chocolate and raspberry creation which couldn't really be described as it vanished so fast!

I am now watching the slogging match which is the men's open finalm

Cooking for those you care about is the most profound expression of love - Anne-Sophie Pic

EM: your Iron Age cookery course sounds fascinating, as you say people continued cooking like that for many centuries.

It is the wedding season here, I passed a house adorned with white ribbons this morning. There has been a lot of car hooting over on the main road. There is a vogue for "Village Weddings", that is usually a simplified version of the old fashioned wedding. The girls still meet but instead of admiring the brides linens etc they have a girlie party. The young men take the groom to the barbers, this still gets a bit raucous. Where possible they still parade from the church but that does depend on the traffic. The bride and groom disappear for romantic photos, I bet if I were to go down to the beach this evening there would be couples being snapped against the sunset.The meal, you cannot really call it a reception, tends to be held on the village football pitch or in the village "arena" if it is a big village, there are also wedding palaces. Where ever it is you still queue to hand over your money envelope. The food is always the same, dips, salad, souvla, kleftiko followed by fruit, they do not go on in for wedding cakes. All accompanied by very loud music.When we lived in Polis we were not far from one of the wedding palaces, every Saturday night it was the same music. I leave to imagine the parking.